By Choice
by Sibbie
Summary: Midieval teenage princess, Holly, and her sister are married off to a pair of stuck-up princes, while in love with two servants they'd never be allowed to marry.
1. Just Another Day

A/N: This is my first story. so, please don't diss it. R/R if ya got the time and ya like it! ;)  
  
I did not get these characters off of any show or novel, I created them with the help of my co-author, Laura. Please do not steal or use these characters without my permission.  
  
Chapter one: Just Another Day  
  
I woke up and got out of bed, tired and not quite ready for a new day. Today would be another day of needlepoint, scolding from Mother, and if I was lucky, I'd get to wander outside around the castle for a bit.  
  
At least I have Laura, who is my sister, to keep things interesting. And Peter, the gardener's son. Not to mention Happy, my horse. So I suppose I'm not so bad off.  
  
I walked over to my mirror to see how I looked. I knew I wouldn't look any different than any other day, but I glanced at myself anyway. Looking over myself, I wished I was prettier. I mean, everyone says I'm gorgeous, but I still wish I had more of Laura's natural beauty. Which is she didn't have, none of the hundreds of boys who daydream over her would daydream over her, because she is a real tomboy.  
  
Laura's hair is soft, blonde, and kept short. Mine is wavy, chocolate brown, and comes to my lower back. Her eyes are daring and blue, and my eyes seem so deep, and light brown. Our skin colors match at a medium tone. She looks like Mother, I look like Father.  
  
I heard a knock at my door, followed by Martha's voice, announcing, "Good morning, Miss Holly. Breakfast is ready." After a moment of footsteps,, Martha was gone.  
  
Martha is my servant, a middle-aged woman who has been widowed and left with no children. She is very kindhearted and has been like a second mother to me. Martha has helped raise me for the past sixteen years. I've found that when it comes to advice, she can be even better than Father's advisor.  
  
Anyhow, as soon as Martha had gone, I walked over to my wardrobe and changed into my beige-colored dress. Picking up my comb, I attempted to comb out my tangled head of hair. As soon as my hair was decent, I went out into the hallway to get to breakfast.  
  
As I headed down the hall, Laura came out of her room and called to me. "Hey! Wait up!" Laura shouted. I noticed, obviously, that she was still in her nightgown.  
  
That's typical of Laura. A rule breaker, a daredevil, a smart mouth. An arguer, an adventurer, a carefree girl full of spirit, with Laura, life was always full of surprises.  
  
"Laura, you're still in your nightgown!" I figured I'd tell her under the small chance that it was an accident.  
  
With a roll of her eyes and a grin, Laura remarked, "And you think I care?" She skipped ahead of me, down the hall and to the staircase.  
  
Laura and I never walked down the staircase. At least, not when Mother, Father, or any of the servants are around. We like to slide down the banisters and railings. But if anyone ever saw us, we'd be dead. So we both hopped and the banister, since no one was around, and slid down to the second story, which is right below our rooms. Laura and I both hopped off at the bottom and walked into the dining room. Only, I made sure to straighten my dress before walking in.  
  
We kissed our parents and sat down. The waiters served us our food, and that is when Mother noticed.  
  
"Laura, what and Earth do you have on?" Mother snapped.  
  
"It's my nightgown," Laura said very matter-of-factly, looking Mother directly in the eyes.  
  
Father and I both sighed. We knew what was ahead. Mother would make her change, Laura would give out a sigh while rolling her eyes, and then change. Once she was back, she would have something to complain about.  
  
"Laura, you know not to come to breakfast in a nightgown! Go and change and then come back down," Mother said. She looked very irritated.  
  
Laura rolled her eyes and sighed. She dragged herself up to the third floor to change.  
  
I took a bite into my eggs and looked at mother. Laura is seventeen now, and she and Mother looked very similar. But their personalities are very different. Mother is kind, yet strict, and constantly scolding Laura and I. She was trying to turn Laura and me into proper young ladies.  
  
Laura and I hated that. But I think Laura hated it more than I did. I mean, I don't mind dresses. You'd almost never see Laura in a dress. But we do like some of the same things, such as the outdoors. And cute boys. Bur more and that topic later.  
  
Laura walked back in wearing a light blue blouse and light blue baggy pants. The color matched her eyes almost perfectly. Of course, no dress on.  
  
Laura sat back down to eat. Mother, Father, and I were almost finished. She took a bite of her eggs.  
  
"Eew!" She spit her eggs back out, which you could tell Mother tried SO hard not to say anything about. "They're cold!"  
  
There was the complain to finish off Mother and Laura's routine.  
  
I finished eating and turned to Father. "Father, may Laura and I go outside?" I asked.  
  
Before Father could answer, Mother replied, "Not until you do your needlepoint."  
  
I turned to face Mother. "My needlepoint is finished."  
  
Mother turned to Laura. "And yours?"  
  
"I still need more material before I can finish mine," Laura replied.  
  
"Very well then." Mother answered.  
  
"Yes!" I jumped up and hugged her.  
  
"Put and some shoes first," Mother instructed. "And stay and castle property!"  
  
"We will!" Laura shouted and we both ran outside.  
  
A/N: Okay, I know there wasn't really anything interesting about that chapter, but the starts to stories never really are interesting. Next chappie gets really interesting, I promise! ;) Now, go! Review! Eh, please. Hehe ^^ 


	2. The Surprise

A/N: Thanks to my ONE reviewer, Nixiy, for r/r-ing. come and. more people gotta review! XD Okay, I have nothing really to say, so, and with the story!  
  
Once outside, Laura and I both slipped off our shoes. We knew that Mother wouldn't come outside and find out. Besides, we like the feeling of the soft grass beneath our feet.  
  
While Laura stopped to breath in the fresh Autumn air, I headed over to the stables.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" Laura shouted while running up to me.  
  
After peeking in to make sure the still hands weren't inside, we both crawled in. As Laura walked over to her white horse, Sephilia, I walked over to my horse, Happy.  
  
Sephilia and Happy are both Thoroughbred Mares. Sephilia is completely smoky gray, except for her dappled white spots. Like my hair, Happy is completely chocolate colored, except for her four white socks and one white mark and her forehead. They're both well-trained horses that make good listeners. They really do.  
  
As Laura rode out of the stalls, I hopped and Happy and followed. Once we were both out, we closed the stall doors behind us. Happy and I took off while Laura and Sephilia followed.  
  
"Where are we going?" Laura asked, cantering beside me.  
  
"To the garden!" I said with a devilish grin.  
  
I didn't need to explain. Laura knew that I secretly had a crush and Peter, and I knew that she secretly thought Jordan was cute. This would be fun for both of us.  
  
See, Peter is our gardener's son, and Jordan is his older brother. Peter is a year older than me, and Jordan is a year older than Laura.  
  
We're not allowed in the garden without mother, so we would have to sneak in. But I knew we could make it. As soon as we got close, we stopped and tied our horses outside the garden onto a tree. Once they were done being tied, Laura climbed into the tree so that she could see into the garden to make sure that no one was standing by the entrance. She nodded down at me, which meant that the coast was clear.  
  
Without waiting for Laura, I ran over to the entrance. I quietly opened the gate and snuck in. I ducked down and crawled along beside the bushes. I was about to turn the corner when I saw Peter, turning around the corner towards me. I stopped and jumped into the bushes.  
  
Just then, Laura jumped in, forgetting to keep the door from slamming. Seeing Peter, she leapt into the bushes before he saw her.  
  
Hearing the slam, Jordan ran over. "What was that?" he asked.  
  
Peter shrugged. "Probably just some animal." he said, picking some flowers from the row opposite the bushes.  
  
Jordan stopped. "Are those the flowers for the Princesses' surprise?"  
  
Peter nodded.  
  
They're gonna love it. This'll be the biggest thing that's happened in a while, huh?" Jordan grinned.  
  
"Yeah." Peter mumbled.  
  
"Hey, this is supposed to be a good thing!" Jordan said.  
  
"Good for them." Peter mumbled.  
  
Before Jordan could respond, their father called them over. Taking the opportunity, Laura and I escaped back out of the garden.  
  
"A surprise?" Laura squealed with delight.  
  
"I hope it's a good thing." I said to myself.  
  
"Well, Jordan said it was a good one!" Laura exclaimed.  
  
"Let's get back to find out what it is!" I said, getting excited myself.  
  
Laura nodded and we untied our horses. After we had hopped on, Laura and I rode back to the stalls.  
  
Once we were back at the stalls, I put Happy away while Laura put Sephilia back. We ran back to the entrance, remembering to put our shoes back and.  
  
Laura walked inside and I followed. Mother and Father were waiting inside.  
  
"Girls, we have a surprise for you," Mother said excitedly.  
  
"As well as some bad news to follow," Father added.  
  
"Go upstairs and wash up for dinner. We will tell you the surprise after dinner," Mother decided.  
  
Okay, that's all you get to hear for now. The surprise will be next time, so don't forget to come back and read the next part! ;) Sorry it took so long to get this chappie up. I didn't have much time and the computer until today. okay, I'll stop jabbering and let yu go be so kind and review! XD Now go! Review, review, review! XD ^^ 


	3. THAT'S the Surprise?

A/N: Two reviewers now! Yay! XD But I still need more reviewers. so come and review. you know you want to! XD But you also wanna read. So I'll let you do that. Go! Read!  
  
Laura and I both ran upstairs as fast as we could. I ran down the hall to my room to find that Martha was just finishing pouring hot water into my tub.  
  
"Thanks, Martha," I smiled.  
  
"You're welcome, sweetie," Martha hugged me and left.  
  
I undressed and bathed. After being in those prickly bushes, the warm water felt good. But I made sure not to take my time too much because I was dying to know what the surprise was.  
  
Once I was through, I hopped out of the tub and dried off. I went over to my wardrobe to see what I should wear. I chose my long-sleeved purple dress.  
  
I dressed myself, brushed my damp hair, and pulled it back into a ponytail. I then sat down and waited for Martha to announce dinner. Any time now, I thought. I waited. and waited. and waited. Would it ever come?  
  
Finally, after what seemed like hours, I heard Martha say, "Miss Holly, dinner is ready!"  
  
I dashed out of the door, nearly knocking Martha over. I sped down the hall and jumped onto the banister. Leaping off at the bottom, I darted into the dining room.  
  
Laura had beaten me there.  
  
I sat down at my seat and said, "Hello, everyone!"  
  
"Hello, girls," Mother and Father said in unison. That was all that was spoken. The food was served and we all ate, not speaking to each other. I think we were all too busy thinking about the surprise to speak to each other.  
  
Dinner finally ended. Laura and I both looked at Father first. He said nothing, so we looked at Mother. She only looked at Father, so we looked back at Father, too.  
  
"Let's all go into the parlor," Father suggested.  
  
We all stood and walked out of the living room. We were all silent as we walked there. Mother and Father led, Laura and I followed.  
  
I had NO CLUE what the surprise was, but I was dying to know. Was this a surprise party? A new family member? And what was the bad news? Did somebody die?  
  
We finally reached the parlor and all entered, single filed. Laura and I sat down beside each other on the sofa while Mother and Father both sat in arm chairs.  
  
"Well, Mother began, "As you both already know, your Father and I have a surprise for the both of you," She paused and smiled.  
  
She turned to Laura. "Laura, you're seventeen now. and Holly, you're sixteen. And so." She paused and took a deep breath.  
  
So did Laura and I.  
  
"We have decided that you are both at the appropriate age to be getting married!" Mother smiled excitedly. "Isn't that wonderful?"  
  
"We've found two wonderful Princes from nearby Kingdoms by the names of Charles and George," Father said.  
  
Mother then chimed in, "They're both very handsome, so we're sure you will both be very happy!"  
  
"You both will get to meet them tomorrow," Father declared.  
  
Throughout all of this, Laura and I just stared in shock. Our faces were blank. Neither of us could believe it.  
  
"And now, for the bad news," Father said with a sigh. "Other nearby Kingdoms heard of your engagement once word got around. One particular Kingdom wasn't too happy..."  
  
"Why not?" I asked.  
  
"It seems they had been planning and marrying their sons to you both, once the time was right. They asked your Mother and me to reconsider. When I said no, they became angry and called us stuck-up fools. We got in a heated argument, and they declared war on us," Father said.  
  
"We need you two to stay alert now for the next few weeks. The king from that Kingdom is, well, rather crazy. The last thing we need is for you two to be harmed or kidnapped. Understand?" Mother asked.  
  
Laura and I both nodded before leaving the room, still in shock. 


	4. AN

A/N: Hi all, I'm SO sorry I haven't updated recently. My parent's divorce became final, my dad moved, and my b-day as a week ago... anyhow, next story out VERY soon, I promise! =/ Sorry I've kept you waiting so long... anyhow, I think i'm also gonna begin a new story. i have 2 in mind, but im not sure which of them to write first... *ponders* another midievil, but also a fairy tale, or a modern-day faitytale sorta thing? Also... If you want a list of characters, their postitions, and their ages, or if you'd like to be updated through email whenever a new chapter comes out, review with your email address! 


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